Quiet Moments: Sick Days
by ConsultingCompanion94
Summary: Rose is feeling under the weather. The Doctor insists on taking care of her. What could possibly go wrong? (Major fluff. May eventually turn into a multi-story Fic, TBD!)
1. Chapter 1- Tea and Breakfast

**Authors Note: Hey everyone! I'm very familiar with FanFiction, but this is this is my first time posting my work, so any constructive criticism or positive feedback would be very appreciated! I came up with this story one day as I was laying in bed sick- the conversation between Rose and the Doctor in later chapters just sort of happened, and the rest is history! I love these two to pieces, so I just had to put this story out there. Two items of business before I get started- 1, I'm currently trying to decide where I want this story to take place (Pre- Canary Warf, AU where Canary Warf didn't happen/didn't separate them, Post- Journeys end, etc) so I'd love to hear your opinions as the story goes on, and 2, I absolutely LOVE FanArt, so if any of you with more talent then me feel so inspired as to create something based on this story, that would be Molto Bene! Now that I've rambled enough, on to the story!**

"Rose, are you up yet?" Rose heard as the Doctor knocked on her door in a quick four-beat rhythm.

 _Well, guess I'm lucky he lasted this long_ , she thought, looking at the clock. She was surprised to see that it read 10 rather than the usual 8. Much as he always complained about how much time she spent sleeping and the valuable travel time it wasted, it meant a lot to her that he'd let her get some extra sleep today. It must have been obvious even to him that she needed it- let's just say three days of no sleep due to being chased by… well, she still couldn't pronounce the name, but regardless, the ordeal had really taken its toll.

"Gimme a bit, just getting up," she managed to croak out with surprising difficulty _. Great, dry throat_ , she thought with a sigh, first _things first, get something to drink._

"Is everything alright Rose? Something about your voice sounds off," the Doctor said, clearly concerned. _Probably wondering if I've been kidnapped and replaced by some alien clone_ she thought with a chuckle.

"Yah, just a dry throat, happens all the time when I first get up," she explained.

"Mind if I come in for a moment?" He asked.

"Sure, guess I'm decent enough," she said, sitting up in bed.

He opened the door and stepped in, clearly checking to be sure she was really ok and wasn't downplaying anything.

"I'm fine, really Doctor, nothing to worry about. It's not usually this bad, probably just because I went so long without sleep then crashed longer than normal."

"You're sure? It wouldn't take any time at all to pop into the med bay and have the Tardis run a few quick scans..."

 _True to his name in every way,_ she thought."I'm sure Doctor, once I get up and going I'll be just fine. But thank you anyway," she said, smiling.

"Ok then, if you're sure," he said, shrugging, "If something to drink is all you need, can I make you a cup of tea while you're getting ready?"

"Would you? That would be really lovely, actually."

"No problem, back in a bit," he said, bouncing out of the room with a grin.

She shook her head, smiling.

"Guess that's my cue." Sighing, she slowly made her way to the closet. It wasn't a long walk, but for some reason by the time she got there she was already out of breath.

 _What is wrong with me today? Sore throat, winded after walking to the closest, that trip can't have worn me out that badly_. Exhausting as it had been, she'd been on trips far worse and hadn't reacted anything like this. She wondered if she should take the Doctors offer to have the Tardis run a few tests, but quickly brushed it off. He'd blow it out of proportion like he always did, and what he insisted would be a "few quick scans" would likely turn into a far more extensive process, especially since she'd already insisted that she was fine.

Once she'd caught her breath, she made her way to the bathroom. She figured the Doctor must be nearly done with the tea by now and decided she'd better hurry if she wanted to avoid him coming back and catching her in the shower... yah, not a good idea. The hot water and steam did help a bit, but even standing wore her out much more than it should have.

"Ok, we'll definitely be going somewhere very low key today," she said to herself as she towel dried her hair. She quickly ran a brush through it, then took the blow drier from the bathroom and sat at her vanity to finish the process. Surprisingly (especially since her exhaustion was making her take much more time getting ready than usual), the Doctor still wasn't back from making the tea, so she decided to hurry and put on some mascara.

Just as she was finishing, four knocks signaled the Doctors return. _Perfect timing_ , she thought, grinning.

"Took you long enough, come on in then," she called, turning to face the door.

"What did you do, get distracted and decide to disassemble the toaster?" She joked as the door swung open. However, as the Doctor entered the room she saw exactly what had kept him so long.

"What's all this?" She asked, surprised as the Doctor came in with, not only her favorite tea, but a tray full of her favorite foods- eggs, toast and jam, yogurt, bacon, and banana nut muffins (though she suspected that last one was more for his benefit then hers).

"Well, I know that last trip did a number on us, especially you, so I figured you earned this," he said, grinning with pride as he set the tray on her bed.

"This is a first. Does this mean I have to take back everything I said about you being rude and not ginger?"

"To be fair, it was me that said that, not you," he replied, chuckling with a warm smile.

"This is a lot of food; I'm assuming you made it for both of us?" She said as she sat next to the tray. While she appreciated the gesture, she strangely didn't have much of an appetite this morning. That didn't make any sense, considering they also hadn't eaten much on the last trip due to all of the running, but she didn't want to make him feel bad if she couldn't finish it all herself.

"Actually, I just thought you could use some extra fuel after eating so little the last few days. I don't need to eat much, and I had some last minute things I needed to work on in the control room to get ready for today's trip."

"Oh come on, even you've got to be running low on fuel after all that. At least have some of these muffins, I know they're your favorite," she said, holding out the bowl and waving it back and forth temptingly.

He hesitated, but she finally saw his resolve crumble.

"Well, if you insist," he said, coming forward and snatching two of the muffins.

"That's what I thought," she said smugly. "So, where are we off to today?

"Well since we've had our fill of excitement for the time being," he started with mouth full of muffin before noticing her raise her eyebrow with a smirk. He quickly swallowed before continuing, "Sorry, so much for not being rude." She giggled, earning another grin from him in response, "Anyway, I figured we'd set the controls to random and let the Tardis choose somewhere non-threatening to spend the day sight-seeing."

"Perfect, I was hoping it would be something like that. Mind you, with our luck some catastrophe will likely pop up just because we're there," Rose said with a sigh.

"Yah, that does tend to happen, doesn't it?" The Doctor replied, running his hand along the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Yup, and I wouldn't have it any other way," Rose said, grinning.

That only seemed to make him more eager than before, and he was now beaming with excitement, "In that case, I'll leave you to finish your breakfast and get us landed so we can walk right out the door when you get to the control room."

"Perfect, I'm right behind you." She said, though she was unsure if he heard a word since he was half way out the door by the time she finished.

She tried eating a bit more, but the most she could manage was a few bites of eggs and a piece of toast. She didn't know what she was supposed to do with all of it. She couldn't finish, but she didn't want him finding out if she didn't eat it all.

"Might be a long shot, but could you help me take care of this?" She asked the Tardis. The gentle hum made the response clear, even to her.

"Thanks Old Girl," she said, smiling at the ceiling. _Well, guess I've kept him waiting long enough._ She thought with a sigh. In hindsight, she should have known her day would go anything but as planned.

 **Thanks for reading, please review. I'll have another chapter up soon, and look forward to hearing your thoughts in the meantime.**

 **Allonsy and Geronimo!**


	2. Chapter 2- Hearts Attack

**Authors note: Hey everyone! Wow, over 100 views in just a week, thank you all so much for reading! Also, as far as when this story takes place, I think based on a mix of your comments and what I've written so far, I'm gonna keep this particular fic in the pre-Canary Warf universe, and then I'll eventually** **transition into post-Canary Warf in follow up fics. However, I'd still love feedback on whether I should do later fics with or without Canary Warf and if she ends up with the Meta-crisis or the actual Doctor, so** **don't forget to comment. That being said, onto the story!**

Rose slowly got up from the bed and made her way to the door. To her disappointment, as she started walking it became clear that her symptoms had only gotten worse. She prayed that the Tardis had actually cooperated this time and taken them somewhere safe- if she could barely make it down the hallway without having to stop to steady herself and catch her breath, she was done for if she had to do the typical amount of running.

Finally, she made it to the control room. She had to smile at the sight of the Doctor moving around the control panel pulling different levers and pushing buttons with his usual chaotic enthusiasm. The engines came to that same grinding halt she'd come to love so much, signaling that they'd arrived wherever the Tardis had brought them.

"Oh good, perfect timing," he said once he finally noticed she was there," I just set us down, and I think we might have finally found somewhere catastrophe-free for a change. Granted, with our track record I make no promises, but the Tardis didn't seem to have any trouble landing, so I think we have a fair chance at a nice calm trip. Don't want to make that a habit of course, wouldn't be much of a thrill if we did, but once in a while-"

"Mm, right, thrill," Rose said, now only half-coherent as she fought to stay upright.

He looked over at her, clearly confused by the lack of excitement on her part.

"I mean, I thought it was a good idea, you seemed excited about it a moment ago... But I can find somewhere else if you would like, it's not a big deal really..."

"No no, it's not that," she said, but that was all she could manage as her legs finally gave out and she started to collapse.

"Whoa whoa whoa, easy easy," the Doctor exclaimed as he rushed forward to grab her before she could hit the ground.

"Rose, what's wrong?" The Doctor asked, frantically assessing to make sure she was alright.

"It's nothing, I'm fine..."

"Rose Tyler, don't _even_ try that. You just collapsed on me! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" He said angrily.

"Don't you mean hearts attack?" She said weakly, hoping to get him to lighten up a bit. It

It didn't work.

"That's not funny! What would I do if anything ever happened to you on my watch?" He said frantically, clearly deeply concerned about her.

She sighed, "I'm sorry Doctor, I promise it's not as bad as it looks, but I should have told you I didn't feel up to going out today. I just didn't want you to overreact and think it was worse than it really is."

He took a deep breath to calm himself. "No, I'm sorry. You're right, I did overreact. You just scared me half to death!"

"It's really nothing, Doctor, this happens all the time."

"Why is this the first time I've seen it then?" he questioned.

"Must be because I've been under less stress and have been less getting more lately. That's what usually causes it- I overwork myself, then my body just kind of gives out until I take the time to rest. That last trip is the longest I've gone without sleep since we started traveling, so that must be what triggered it," she explained.

"Well, I guess that makes sense," he said, now visibly calmer. "Are you sure you're alright though? You don't want me to drop you off at your mums or something like that so you can rest?"

"Oh please no, you remember how much she was fussing over you when you regenerated!"

His eyes widening in horror was proof that he remembered the incident all too well.

"Yah, on second thought, maybe not the best idea. Come to think of it, aside from all the fussing, with my luck I'll have earned another Jackie Tyler slap for even letting you get sick in the first place."

She gave a weak laugh, glad that he seemed to have forgiven her for scaring him.

"Well, guess I'm clearly not going anywhere today. Don't miss out on my account though, go have a good time. Just try not to get into too much trouble without me," she said.

"Oh come on Rose, don't be daft. You know as well as I do that traveling's not half as much fun for me without you. Nope, till you're well I'm not going anywhere, no arguments," he said before she could object.

"Ok ok, guess if you want to be bored it's up to you," she said, knowing there was no way she'd win this argument, and not even sure she wanted to if it meant she'd have to spend the day alone.

"Good," he said, grinning, "Well, now that that's settled," without warning, he was suddenly picking her up off the ground bridal style and carrying her out of the control room.

"Doctor, what are you doing?!" She said in shock.

"Taking you to your room to rest, I'd have thought it would be obvious." He answered, seemingly oblivious to her reaction.

"I have legs you know," she protested, not sure how to react to this situation.

"Yah, legs that just gave out back there. No way I'm chancing that you'll collapse on me again."

"I'm pretty sure I could have made it on my own Doctor, I'm not that fragile. I did make it to the control room remember," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Let me worry about that, alright? Would it kill you to let me take care of you for a change?" He said, looking down at her with a smile.

"Come on, you take care of me all the time. If it weren't for you I would have died in a basement surrounded by living plastic."

"You don't give yourself enough credit. We both know you didn't need me and my big ears and leather to get you out of there, you would have been just fine."

"Yah, I'm being carried back to my room and I'd have been 'Just fine'", she retorted with a roll of her eyes.

"Rose Tyler, if there is one thing I'm determined to teach you, it's how to pick your battles," he said with mock sternness.

"Alright, I give," she said, smiling, "And not just because it would be pointless to argue since we're already at my room anyway."

"Yup, totally pointless," he agreed, opening the door and setting her down close to her bed.

"Now, I know you said you just needed rest, but is there anything else I can do for you? The Tardis is much better equipped with whatever you may need to speed up your recovery then anywhere you'd find on Earth."

"No, I think I'd rather just rest. No offense, but I'm not sure I want to risk having some weird reaction to whatever you might have stashed away," she said, as she could just imagine any number of scenarios that might result from her taking whatever strange alien remedy he might come up with.

"Ok then, I'll just leave you to rest. The Tardis will alert me when you're up again, so I'll come check on you then," he said as he prepared to leave. She didn't know why, but all of a sudden she didn't want to be alone.

"Doctor, you know how I said I didn't want you to take me to my mum's?" She asked

"Of course, why? Did you change your mind? I'd be more than happy to drop you off if that would make you feel better-"

"No no, I still want to stay here. I was just wondering- human sicknesses don't affect you, right?"

"Nope, my immune system covers nearly all your typical Earth diseases," he said with pride.

"Yah, that's what I thought. You see, it's just that, well, it's kind of miserable to be sick all by yourself, so I was just wondering, I mean, would you be willing to keep me company? Just till I fall asleep, that is."

She could tell by his stunned silence and rigid posture that her request had completely caught him off guard.

"Um, well, you see, I had some repairs on the Tardis I needed to take care of and, um, I don't want you to lose rest on my account," however, when he saw the look of disappointment on her face, he added, "But you know what, the Tardis really could handle the repairs herself, it's minor stuff really, and if you think the company would help your recovery..."

He was cut off by her coming forward and pulling him into a hug and it would be hard to say who was more surprised.

"Thanks Doctor, that means a lot," she said.

"No problem," he said thickly.

Now it was her turn to be at a loss for what to say, as she was unsure what to do now that she'd actually gotten him to stay.

"Well... I'll just...go change then...just...make yourself comfortable," she said awkwardly before grabbing her pajamas and making her way to the bathroom as quickly as she was able, leaving a stunned Doctor in her wake.

 **Yup, I'm just evil enough to leave you hanging for now, hehehe #sorrynotsorry. Next chapter should be up in about a week, my new work and school schedule permitting. Till then, remember, reviews are cool.**

 **Allons-y and Geronimo!**


	3. Chapter 3- A Fashion Statement

**Hey everyone! Sorry this is so late, my week has been insane with midterms, my new job, and having a million people from out of town staying at my house since my grandma is in the hospital. Hope this was worth the wait, now onto the story!**

Once she got to the bathroom, the full impact of what she'd just done finally hit her. _What on earth did I just do? Ask him to stay with me, he doesn't do that sort of thing, he's an alien for crying out loud! He probably thinks being sick has messed with my emotions. Of course he was too nice to tell me no, he just agreed so I'd feel better. I'll just tell him I changed my mind, and I'll be fine on my own._

She'd managed to get back into her pink top and black pajama shorts, and finally prepared to walk back out into her room, determined to let him know he was free to leave. However, her resolve crumbled as she saw him standing so adorably uncertain in the middle of the room. Tie, coat, and trainers had been removed and placed on a nearby chair, leaving only his dress pants and shirt rolled up to the elbows, and instead of telling him to feel free to leave, what came out was, "I did tell you to make yourself comfortable, didn't I?"

He chuckled at her attempt to lessen the tension, "Well, strictly speaking this _is_ making myself comfortable. I'm not much of a pajama person since I don't sleep much, so at most I'll probably just take a cat nap in the recliner for a bit once you've fallen asleep."

"Huh, after all this time I'd never have guessed you're always awake when I'm sleeping. You sure don't make much noise, 'specially considering you're, well, you."

"Nah, can't take credit there, that's just the Tardis. Not many places can sound-proof rooms better when they need to be," he said as he sat down in the recliner.

"I knew it was too good to be true," she snorted. She finally climbed into bed, relishing how the simple act of getting off her feet made a world of difference. She turned to face him, propping herself up on one elbow. "So, tell me then, if you don't sleep much, does that mean there's no bed in your bedroom? That would kind of defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?

"Of course I have a bed, why wouldn't I?" He asked, seeming confused by her question. "I do still need sleep, just not as much or as often as you do."

"How often then?" She asked, more and more curious.

"Oh, I have a regular night's sleep about every other week, and most other days it's just a half hour cat nap here and there," he said matter-of-factly.

"Really? That's all?" She said incredulously, "How long has it been since your last full nights sleep then?"

"Oh, you know, not long," he said, a little too hesitantly as he tried to dismiss her question.

"Doctor, how long has it been?" She said, more serious this time as her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Well, I guess it would have to be...oh I don't know...about...three weeks maybe?"

"Three weeks?" She said in shock," You told me all you needed was a nap in the recliner!"

"I do," he said, "Trust me, I've gone far longer on far less sleep."

"Doesn't mean you should! It's bad enough I'm sick without you wearing yourself into the ground. I never would have asked you to stay with me if I'd have known how exhausted you must be," she said, now feeling extremely guilty.

"Rose, I'm fine, really. I wanted to stay," he replied gently.

She didn't doubt he meant it, but there was no way she could let him go another night without sleep because of her. She took a deep breath, hardly believing what she was about to do, and after a few seconds was finally able respond, "Ok then, you want to stay, and I want you to; but you're not spending the night in the recliner," she said as she scooted over to one side of the bed. "Come on then," she said, patting the bed beside her.

"Rose, what are you..." He questioned, sounding both surprised and confused.

"I'm making room for you. Come on Doctor, you need a decent night's sleep, and you're not going to get it in that recliner."

If he'd seemed uncomfortable with her request for him to stay, it was nothing to how he looked now.

"Rose, I really don't think that's a good idea..."

"Come on Doctor, I'm not going to bite," she said, rolling her eyes. "And I trust you," she added gently.

He hesitated, but she could see him slowly cave as she continued to look at him expectantly.

"Alright, just this once," he said, slowly making his way over to the bed. He carefully pulled back the covers, then gingerly climbed in beside her.

"See? Much better," she said once he was settled.

"Well, it's certainly... Different..." He responded noncommittally.

"Different's good," she said. Before she could fully process what she was doing, she found herself moving closer to him and repositioning her head on his shoulder. He stiffened a bit at the contact, but gradually relaxed and rested his head on top of hers. They laid like that for a bit, totally at ease, until one of Roses feet brushed against the Doctors as she was repositioning it.

"Rassilon Rose, you're freezing!" He exclaimed, jumping a bit.

"Sorry, can't help it," she said sheepishly.

"Yah, it was a good thing we put off the trip, there's no way you would have lasted the day, not running a fever roughly 4 degrees above normal and with your heart rate as accelerated as it is."

"Oh come off it, now you're just showing off," Rose said, rolling her eyes and looking up at him," You couldn't have gotten all of that on your own. What did you do, have the Tardis check my vitals so you could sound impressive?"

"Would I do that?" The Doctor asked in mock offense."Don't answer that. For your information, Rose Tyler, it just so happens that I did get 'all that' on my own."

"Yah?" Rose questioned, eyebrows raised, "How then?"

"Simple" he replied, "Time Lord. It's not enough for most people to notice, but all of my senses are above the normal human average. Heightened sense of taste and smell, better sense of touch, 20/20 vision, you know, the norm," he said, shrugging.

"What else don't I know about you?" Rose asked, eyes wide, "Guess I should know by now that you don't need the Tardis to impress me, you're quite capable of that on your own."

"Well..." He said, in a failed attempt at modesty.

Rose laid there for a few minutes, processing this new bit of information. Then, something clicked.

"Hang on," she said, "20/20 vision? Are you saying you don't even need those glasses you always pull out?"

His eyes widened, and she could see the wheels turning as he tried to think of a decent response.

"Um, well, you see the thing about that is, they're, um, well even though they're not strictly necessary..."

His reaction was answer enough.

"Oh my gosh, they're a fashion statement!" She said, laughing.

"Now hold on!" he yelped, voice rising an octave as he frantically tried to regain control of the situation, "They may not be a requirement, but those glasses have plenty of practical uses! The extra magnification is always helpful, no matter how good ones eyesight is..."

"Yah, I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you like looking more clever, brainy, and a tiny bit sexy," Rose said with a smirk.

She laughed as the look of shock on his face gave away just how perfect her assessment was.

"All right all right, if you've had quite enough fun at my expense," he grumbled, rolling his eyes in mock annoyance, which she didn't believe for a second due to the small half smile he couldn't quite manage to prevent. "So, they make me look a tiny bit sexy, do they?" He said, raising his eyebrows with a mischievous grin.

Too late, she realized she'd been beaten at her own game.

"If you're looking for an ego boost, forget it," she replied in what she knew was a pathetic attempt at dodging the question, which only succeeded in making him grin even more.

"Hey, I've given you plenty of compliments, least you can do is own up to it when you give me one," he said. "Remember when we went to visit Charles Dickens?"

"Yah, you told me I looked beautiful- considering that I'm a human. Some compliment," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I meant it though," he said, much more intently, "I just... didn't really know how to say what I really meant at the time. Guess not much has changed."

"Why is that?" She asked, very aware that they were now talking about something far more then Charles Dickens.

"Wish I knew," he said quietly, "New new Doctor, and I still can't bring myself to just come out and say..."

"Yah?" She said, holding her breath expectantly.

"Does it matter?" He said seriously, "No matter what I think or feel, it always ends in loss. Guess when you've lived as long as I have, you realize there are some things that just can't change, and wishing they could only makes it worse."

"Doesn't mean you give up," she said, "The only thing constant is change, isn't that how it goes?"

"You know, seems I do remember hearing something like that," he said with a small smile, "Who knows, with my luck maybe one day I'll find out I accidentally invented that phrase as well."

She laughed, then ended up yawning, reminding both of them the reason why they were in her room in the first place.

"Get some sleep Rose," he said gently.

"'Mnot tired," she said as she fought to keep her eyes open, already knowing she was going to lose the battle.

"I'll still be here when you wake up," he said gently, "I promise."

As she finally succumbed to sleep, she thought she felt his arms wrap around her just a bit more tightly. She wasn't sure if she was still awake or not as she felt a kiss being placed to her head, then heard a voice whisper, "I'll still be here, because even though I can't give you the same promise of forever you gave me, I'm going to give you as much of my forever as I can."

 **Awwwww, like I said, I just adore these two! Not sure if I'm going to continue this story under the same name or if I'm going to continue it as a new story since I think this particular story arc is done, so keep an eye out for more! As always, read and review, I look forward to hearing from you!**

 **Allons-y and Geronimo!**


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